Change Your Mind
by xSimplyMex
Summary: Tommy wants Megan to change her mind about going out with him, but he doesn't know how. Meanwhile Megan isn't sure if she can allow herself to open up.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Body of Proof

**A/N.:** So this story was inspired by the scene of episode 6 'Fallen Angel' where Adam, Megan and Tommy go to Tatjanas club to talk to her about the victim and Tatjana ignored Tommy and eyed Megan appreciatively and then told Megan that she should come back without her friends next time. I found his reaction hilarious and decided to write a little about his feelings. Hope you'll enjoy! :)

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**Change Your Mind**

When Tommy finally arrived at his small apartment, the first thing he did was pouring himself a drink and sat down at his couch. Their finished case was still running constantly through his mind, he couldn't understand how that woman could cruelly shoot a sixteen year old girl and then leave her to die, it was insane. This person was a mother herself, but apparently that didn't matter to her.

His thoughts also wandered to a certain M.E., who had indirectly been invited back to Tatjanas club _without her friends_. Megan had looked gorgeous today in her red dress, but he still found Tatjanas 'offer' kind of concerning, he didn't want Megan over there all by herself, especially not with all those men who had been staring at her, while they were talking to Tatjana. Sure, he knew that Megan wouldn't go there to hook up with some guy, but still he couldn't help feeling jealous- after all she had once been his... _and then I screwed it up_, he added silently, not feeling better at all. He put his glass down and started to pace the room- he had to get his feelings in check or he would make a fool out of himself, not only in front of Megan, but also in front of his colleagues.

Still he meant what he had told Megan, when they were at that restaurant- he truly wanted to see how things could work out between them, but she wasn't giving him a chance to prove that he'd changed or to prove anything, she was just shutting him out.

He didn't know what to do- he'd tried asking her out, she'd denied- then he'd tricked her into going, but when she had found out, she had left him standing in the middle of the restaurant, looking like a fool, which had earned him a few sympathetic looks. What was he supposed to do? Asking her didn't work, dinner hadn't worked- well that was his own fault, but he just wanted to spend some time with her. Megan was tough and to gain her forgiveness would be close to impossible, but worth a try, he concluded.

With an angry sigh he sat back down. He had to think- there had to be a way to make her change her mind. He looked at his almost dead room plant- flowers? No, it wasn't as if they were dating and he would not act like a love-possessed admirer. Presents of any kind wouldn't bring him her attention- he had to get her to trust him again. But how?

Meanwhile Megan had also arrived at her apartment, glad to finally have closed the case. She slipped out of her high heels and put her bag down. Next she settled down on her couch, happy to close her eyes for a few moments. Soon her thoughts wandered to the man, who had once held her heart and then tore it apart by cheating on her. She remembered how used she had felt after finding out, that he was sleeping with another woman- how she had vowed to never let herself get hurt again and how she had been hurt again, by another man- Todd.

She felt as if her whole love life had been a failure, feelings did almost always make her feel uncomfortable, she didn't know how to express them properly sometimes- especially affectionate emotions and gestures were what made her feel awkward, maybe that came from what she had experienced concerning her feelings: when she had finally started to trust and to open up and show her true vulnerable personality, there had always been someone or something that hurt her.

Sometimes she felt as if she was hiding a part of herself, lashing out on others in order to keep them at distance; to keep them from seeing her softer side. To her it was her way of protecting herself from getting hurt, at least verbally, but beneath her seemingly cold i-don't-give-a-damn-attitude was also a vulnerable woman- she had always been strong, but to create the image of an invulnerable person, she had had to learn how to let things bounce off her and act as if she didn't care. Actually she had really come to a point, where it didn't matter to her anymore what anyone thought or said about her. Only sometimes, when a remark was extremely personal, it was harder and sometimes made her doubt her actions.

Tommy had said, that she'd gotten buttoned up and wasn't spontaneous anymore. That wasn't true at all- just because she had grown up and had her routine, didn't mean that she couldn't be spontaneous anymore and tricking her to go to dinner with him was neither grown up nor spontaneous of Tommy either. After all she had been the one to stop the suspect in their mobster case by opening the door of her car while driving...

Why did Tommy have to come to Philadelphia? Her life had been in some sort of order and all of it had been destroyed the second he had been appeared out of nowhere to work with her. She had thought that she had put their past behind her, but something told her that she hadn't. It was crazy that everything with him still felt so familiar, as if they had been working together for ages. She could see that he was trying really hard, but she couldn't allow him to see that she liked it, yet. Megan knew she could trust him in some way and that was the reason why she had asked him to order an analysis of her father's suicide note. Maybe he had changed, but she would need time to decide whether she would allow herself to open up to him again.

Both Megan and Tommy didn't get much sleep that night, because their minds wouldn't stop to think about each other and how to handle the situation.

**Should I continue? Please review and let me know what you think. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N.: Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Finally I've finished chapter two, I hope you'll enjoy it! :)

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**Chapter 2:**

When Megan left her apartment to go to work the next day, she had already had two cups of coffee, but she still felt unusually tired, so she was happy that she only had paperwork to do. Though paperwork was a routine for Megan, she couldn't seem to concentrate long enough on the files that desperately needed to be finished. So, in order to clear her head _and to box my weird emotions up_, she added, she left the office to take a long walk.

Tommy had slept in that morning and wouldn't have been up, if his partner hadn't called him. So he was sitting in the break room, waiting for the effects of the painkillers he had swallowed to set in. Just like the evening before he tried to figure out how to get Megan's attention, but again he didn't come to a conclusion- he let out a frustrated growl and hit the table.

"Whoa, slow down there tiger!" Adam said, entering the break room. Tommy only looked at him angrily and poured himself another cup of coffee. "You've obviously got a problem- care to share, partner?" Adam asked, trying to figure out what was wrong with Tommy, although he was pretty sure that his partner's anger had something to do with a certain M.E.

Tommy turned back to Adam with a sigh "It's nothing, I just didn't sleep well."

Adam raised a brow "This doesn't look like nothing to me, come on I'm only trying to help you."

Tommy frowned: "I don't think you or anyone can."

"You won't know if you don't give me a chance to prove you different." Adam said with a smile.

"That's just it to have a _chance_ to prove her different." Tommy growled to which Adam looked confused

"And by her, you mean Megan?"

"Of course!" Tommy exclaimed, now annoyed by being interrogated.

Adam chuckled "Alright, will you share now? Your day will only get worse if you don't vent your anger or at least talk to someone."

Tommy rolled his eyes:"Fine, I asked Megan out a few weeks ago and she said no, so I tricked her into going and we had a really good time until she found out and left. Ever since she's been actually more cold towards me than before and I just wanna spend some time with her, but she just pushes me away." he said with a sigh

"You tricked her? Can't blame her for being angry. I'd give her time to cool off, maybe you should try to be a friend to her first, before you ask her out."

Tommy nodded "We'll see- this won't be easy, but thanks, I guess"

Adam grinned "Who said women are easy? Now come on, we have files that need to be finished."

On her walk Megan had stopped on a bridge to look at the Schuylkill River. As the water was steadily flowing, she tried to sort her thoughts- she didn't want to think about Tommy, but somehow she couldn't stop herself from doing exactly that, thinking about 'what ifs'. What if he'd really changed? _What if I'll decide to give him another chance? Wait a second- I don't want to be with him, right? What if I do? Enough! This has to stop, I have a beautiful daughter and an important job to think about first, so I'll just focus that. _With that Megan started to walk back to the office to finish her work, trying her best to keep her face. It was going to be a long day...

To say that she'd had a bad day would have been an understatement- she had boxed her feelings up and had returned to work, but instead of finishing the paperwork quickly, she'd had to read practically everything twice to make sure she hadn't made any mistakes- because everyone knows, that Dr Megan Hunt is never wrong.

Due to all the stress she had developed a splitting headache, but as luck would have it, her wish for peace had not been granted- Ethan had barged into her office twice without knocking and therefore had both times almost given her a heat attack when he had interrupted her train of thoughts, of course Kate had had to stop by and tell her that she needed Megan's report on her desk the next day and last but not least Curtis had had to annoy her with one of his typical remarks. Megan had been on the verge of freaking out when she had finally finished her work and left the office, but also when she had arrived at her condo she had not been able to relax, because her ex-husband had decided to drop Lacey off at her place, so that he could go on a spontaneous vacation with a woman he had known for two weeks, according to Lacey.

Megan did not mind the fact that she would get to spend more time with Lacey, but she was pissed that her ex-husband had begun to push their daughter around like an object, so that he could spend more time with other women. She could see that it hurt Lacey to be treated like that and she didn't want her little girl to be sad. Of course she had given Todd a piece of her mind immediately, but he seemed to be on an ego trip lately and didn't listen to her at all, which angered Megan even more, so she had pushed him out and slammed the door shut.

Lacey had heard her parents fight. Though she hated it when they did, she was happy that her mother, who had once been oblivious to her daughter's feelings, was fighting for her even though she must have had an exhausting day as she had looked and sounded drained when she had opened the door. Lacey loved both of her parents, but the way her father was acting at the moment reminded her a lot of the times, when her mom had forgotten to show up on events that had been important to her, only that her father was not only spending less time with her because of work, no he went out on at least two dates a week and forgot about her because of those other women. He made her feel as if she was suddenly unimportant and that saddened her.

When she went into the kitchen to drink some water she saw her mother standing by the window staring into place, she looked sad, but Lacey could sense that it had nothing to do with her father. So she quickly poured herself a glass and went to join her mother.

"Mom?" she asked carefully, trying not to startle her mom too much. "Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Of course." Megan answered quickly, but Lacey threw her a knowing look "Fine. I'm exhausted, today's just not been my day," Megan admitted with a sigh. Lacey knew that her mother was not telling her something, but she decided not to push any further, as she could see her mom could really use some rest.

"Okay, I think I'm going to bed, I'm like totally tired." Lacey said and hugged her tight "I love you Mom."

Megan kissed the top of her head "I love you too, sweetie."

Lacey smiled "Goodnight," she said and went to her room to get some sleep.

Megan went to bed soon after, her head still hurting and her thoughts returning to the day's events- Tommy had not once shown up today, she realized and strangely some part of her had actually missed him, but another part of her told her that it was for the best- she couldn't deal with his behavior at the moment, she was sure that she would get weak at some point and that could very well become the point where she'd be hurt again and would have to deal with another heartbreak caused by Tommy Sullivan.

She couldn't deny that she'd had a great time with him in New York or that she enjoyed the attention he was giving her, which was what made her question her own behavior. _Maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh to him- People can change and I could have at least given him a chance to prove that he's changed._ Deciding to wait and see if he was serious, she finally fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N.: **Hey guys! I've finally finished chapter 3. This is my first try at writing about a crime and it was quite a challenge for me as it's not really what I consider my strength, but because Body of Proof is about solving crimes I decided to try to include one. I hope you'll like it! :)

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**Chapter 3:**

A few days later Tommy got called to a new crime scene. He left his apartment feeling happy, of course not because of the victim, but because he would be seeing Megan again. Tommy had wanted to stop by her office, but he had decided to follow Adam's advice to take it slower and to be a friend to her first.

When he reached the crime scene, a dark alley in Fishtown, he went to talk to his partner.

"Hi Adam, what have we got?" he asked, looking at the victim.

"Her name's Olivia Patterson, age 43, local, lives a few blocks from here." Adam answered, looking at his note pad

"Alright, who informed the police?"

"Mike Dale, found her an hour ago, while he was on his way to work. He was sent home, but was told to stay available if there are any more questions."

Tommy frowned "Where does he work, surely only few people would choose this way to get to work."

Adam nodded "Yeah, we asked him, he said that he work at a car garage not far from here, it's called 'Car Doc'."

"Alright, means he didn't have to worry about getting his clothes dirty, but what was the victim doing here?" he asked, while wondering about when Megan would arrive to bring more light into their case.

About ten minutes later Megan arrived and went to examine the body.

"Detectives, what have we got?" she asked with a small smile. Tommy told her everything they'd found out so far.

"From the looks of it, this gunshot wound is what killed her, autopsy will have to confirm, but I'm pretty sure," she said.

"Hey guys, they just found the projectile, it's a 9mm," Adam said as he walked over to Megan and Tommy.

"Great, well I'm done here- autopsy's in two hours," Megan said, as she gathered her things.

"Okay," Tommy said and watched her walk towards her car.

While driving to the morgue, Megan thought about Tommy's behavior, he had not made any stupid remark about the clothes she wore to the crime scene and he had not tried to get her to go out with him. He had stopped pressuring her- was he trying a new tactic or had he truly realized what her problem was? Though this question bothered her, she had to get her job done first and get justice for their victim.

When the two detectives arrived at the morgue Megan told them what she had found out already and continued the autopsy. Olivia Patterson had died because of the gunshot wound to her chest, other than that there was not much to find except for DNA traces under her fingernails. Megan had also matched the projectile to the bullet from Olivia's chest. All they needed was to find the murder weapon and someone to match to the DNA traces, that needed to be run through the system yet.

Adam had done some research on the victim- she had been the staff executive in a bank of Fishtown and had never been married. Her colleagues had described as a kind and very ambitious woman who seemed to only live for her job, but had, two months before, been in an relationship with James Shepherd. Apparently she had broken up with him and he had been trying to win her back since.

"So we have a suspect- she rejects him again, he snaps and kills her," Megan said looking at Tommy and Adam.

"Yeah, which is why I have to go now, they're bringing him in for interrogation," Adam said and grabbed his things and went to leave.

Tommy nodded "Alright, I'll go back to the crime scene and see if the others have found more evidence."

The only ones left in the room were Megan and Tommy. Soon the silence between them grew uncomfortable, both wanting to say something, but not daring to, so Megan settled with another topic, that was important to her.

"I, umm, wanted to ask, if there's been any news on my father's note," Megan said a bit uneasy.

Tommy sighed "No, not yet, but they're doing their best to finish up as quick as possible."

"Okay, thanks," Megan said, feeling helpless, she needed to find out what had really happened to her father. Tommy noticed the look of sadness, that crossed her face.

"Regardless of what might happen, Megan I want you to know, that I'm here for you, anytime," he said looking into her eyes.

"Thanks for everything, Tommy," she said with a smile "Now let's get back to the crime scene."

"You're coming, too?" he asked surprised.

Megan chuckled and smiled "Of course I'm coming too, we have a killer to catch!"

Tommy grinned "Alright, let's go!"

The drive to the crime scene had been pleasant, the conversation between them had flowed easily. Tommy had asked Megan about Lacey and had seemed genuinely interested in learning more about Lacey. Megan's doubt about Tommy had definitely begun to crumble, but she wasn't about to give in yet.

At the crime scene Tommy and Megan had talked to the other cops who were searching the whole area around the crime scene, but so far they hadn't found more evidence. In order to find more witnesses, Megan and Tommy went to interrogate the people in the houses surrounding the crime scene and finally after five unsuccessful talks, they found another witness.

"Thanks for letting us in, Mrs Kensington," Tommy said as they entered the witness' apartment.

"No problem, I hope I can help your investigation in some way," Rose Kensington answered. "Please have a seat."

"Thank you," Megan and Tommy replied simultaneously and sat down.

"You told us you heard two women fight last night, do you remember what time it was?" Tommy asked, writing something on his notepad.

"Yes... it was around 11 o'clock, I had just finished folding the laundry and wanted to go to bed, so when I went into the bathroom I heard one woman screaming 'Let go of me!' and then another 'Shut up, Patterson' I'm not sure if it was Patterson but it was definitely a name like this," Rose told them. Megan looked at Tommy.

"Did you look out of the window?" she asked the witness.

She shook her head "No, I was too tired and I thought that they were probably fighting over a guy or something."

"Thank you Miss Kensington, you really helped our investigation," Tommy said as he and Megan stood up.

Outside of the house Tommy called Adam to tell him that he could release the victim's ex-boyfriend, 'cause they were now looking for a female killer, which the lab had also confirmed a few moments before, as the DNA trace under Olivia's fingernails was female . After that he and Megan went back to the other cops to see if there were any new findings and fortunately there were. The team had found a gun that matched the bullet two blocks away from the crime scene.

Driving back to the lab, so they could look for fingerprints on the gun, Tommy asked Megan casually what she had planned for the weekend.

"I was planning to go shopping with Lacey, but she has a test on Monday and needs to study, so I won't have much to do if she doesn't need my help," she told him. Saying it out loud she realized that she probably had a pretty lonely weekend ahead of her.

"Which subject?" he asked with interest, which surprised Megan a little.

"Latin. Not really one of her favorite subjects," Megan chuckled, remembering how Lacey had told her that she wished Art would be the only subject at school.

"Then she's really lucky to have an expert like you," he said with a smile. Megan was stunned- he had remembered that her mother had made her learn Latin? She couldn't even _remember_ telling him that she knew Latin, so she just shrugged.

When they arrived at the office, Megan asked Tommy if he wanted to come with her to test the gun for any trace of DNA or if he needed to drive back to the department to discuss the case with Adam. Tommy of course decided to go up with her.

While they were riding the elevator Megan contemplated whether she should ask Tommy if he wanted to join her for a few drinks on Saturday as she wouldn't have much to do with Lacey being busy practicing for her class test. She had noticed that his behavior towards her had changed a lot and it made her realize that he might have truly told her the truth when he had said that New York had been a long time ago and that he'd learned from his mistakes and wanted to see what could happen between them. Megan knew that her emotions were slowly getting the better of her- she knew, though she wouldn't admit it out loud, that she liked spending time with Tommy and there was nothing wrong in going out for a few drinks... was there?

The sound of the elevator shook her from her thoughts and they both exited it. After changing into her white coat and pulling her hair back, she and Tommy went into the lab to examine the possible murder weapon.

With a triumphant look Megan showed Tommy the fingerprint she'd discovered on one of the bullets that had still been inside the gun. Unfortunately it was not in the system. They needed to find out if the victim had had any enemies, maybe at her workplace- as a staff executive she must have rubbed somebody up the wrong way at some point.

After telling Adam of their findings, they decided to talk to Olivia's colleagues again on the next day, as it was already evening. So, after the phone call with Adam ended, Megan threw her caution to the wind and asked Tommy if he would like to go out for a few drinks on Saturday.

"It would give Lacey some quiet to learn and I won't have to spend the whole day doing nothing, we could have a little catch up," she suggested with a nervous smile.

Tommy looked surprised, but then answered: "Sure, I'd like to catch up with you."

Megan smiled at him "Care to share an elevator?" she asked as she grabbed her purse.

"Sure," he said and smiled to himself, Megan was finally letting him in, but it wasn't Saturday yet and they had to focus on catching a killer before.

**To be continued... ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N.: **Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews! So here's chapter 4, I hope you'll like it. :)

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**Chapter 4:**

The following day Adam and Tommy were busy interviewing the colleagues of their murder victim, Olivia Patterson. That left Megan with nothing to do besides the remaining paperwork, which she finished quickly, but beside of that she didn't have anything else that needed her attention, so she chose to drive to the Police Department.

Tommy and Adam were just taking a break before continuing their interrogations, when Megan arrived. Tommy instantly smiled, when he saw her walking through the door and his heartbeat quickened when she returned his smile. _She's so beautiful_, he thought.

"I just came to ask if there's any new information for the case," Megan explained as she leaned onto Tommy's desk.

"Well some of them told us a few names of former co-workers who were fired, but they didn't think any of them would be capable of murder, but those were the colleagues that didn't work that close with her. We haven't interviewed her two other colleagues yet, maybe they know more," Adam answered, while looking into a file.

"I was going to talk to the colleague, who worked very closely with Olivia... wanna join me?" Tommy asked Megan with a grin.

"Sure," she replied.

While Megan and Tommy talked to Olivia's colleague, she told them that there were files that held information on each employee, including ex-employees and told them that the files in their bank also contained fingerprints.

"We're the only bank in Philly, that has these measures, but because there have been several robberies or attempted robberies, we thought it would be easier if the prints of the employees could be quickly excluded from the investigation," she explained.

"Alright, we need to see those files," Tommy said and thanked the woman for helping them.

Only three hours later they were granted access to the files and thus were able to compare the fingerprints with the one they had found on one of the bullets. They had started with the files of the ex-employees, because they were the most likely one's to be angry at the victim, if she had fired them and only an hour later they found a match- Sharon Lambert, a former banker who had been fired about half a year ago.

Adam looked for any information he could find about their prime suspect. Apparently Sharon Lambert had been promised a promotion, but ended up getting fired because she made a mistake at work and had tried to cover it up.

"So, Miss Lambert, would you care to explain to us, why your fingerprints were found on a bullet of the weapon that was used to kill Olivia Patterson?" Adam asked her, noticing the smell of alcohol that hung in the air.

"How am I supposed to know that? I have nothing to do with this!" she snapped.

Tommy looked into her eyes "Miss Lambert are you going to pretend that you were not angry at all because Olivia fired you? After all she had promised you to be promoted, right?" he asked trying to get her to confess.

"Of course I was angry at that bitch, because of her I lost everything- my job, my husband and my money, but I didn't kill her!" she ranted, her brown eyes flashing with anger.

"Come on, we know you killed her! We have a witness who heard your voice and your DNA was found under Olivia's fingernails. You know, a confession might work out positively for you," Adam told her.

"Besides you have a motive and with the evidence we found, any judge would convict you for murder," Tommy added, becoming impatient. But Sharon stayed silent. "Fine, you don't wanna talk? Me neither," he said his voice filled with irritation and looked towards the police officer who was waiting next to the door "You can take her with you now, we're done here," he told him.

Finally they had gotten justice for Olivia and had arrested her killer. It was Friday evening and Megan was a little excited for her date with Tommy- No it wasn't a date, they were just two friends catching up with each other after a long time.

Saturday morning arrived quickly and Megan was up early to cook breakfast for Lacey and herself. When she was finished she called for Lacey.

"I'm coming," she called.

Megan put the food on their plates and sat down.

"Morning Mom," Lacey said as she sat down with a yawn.

"Morning Lace," she replied.

They began to eat and discussed what they would do that day.

"I know I'll probably be busy studying, but what are you doing Mom?" Lacey asked, suspecting that her mother had plans, as she was already wearing her make up.

"Um, I'll be here to help you, if you need me and then later on I'll meet up with a friend for a few drinks," she said, while sipping her coffee.

"A _friend_?" Lacey asked knowingly.

"Yes, a friend," Megan said, knowing that she wasn't off the hook yet.

"Do I know this friend?" Lacey asked with a grin.

"What, are you my mother now?" Megan exclaimed playfully.

"Mom, you didn't answer the question..." Lacey urged.

Megan rolled her eyes and smiled "I'm going out with Tommy. No big deal."

Lacey smirked and went to put her plate in the dishwasher "Alright, you do whatever you want, I'll start practicing grammar...man I hate Latin," she grumbled the last bit and went to her room.

With a sigh Megan stood up and cleared the table, while thinking about what to wear for her catch up with Tommy.

_Why do I care so much? I don't want to, this will all end badly and then I'll have to pick up the pieces. But what if it doesn't?_ Megan decided to see what would happen and maybe then she could finally allow herself to give Tommy another chance, maybe it was time to take a step forward.

Tommy had been excited about his date with Megan all day and was now standing in front of his mirror..._primping_, as Adam would say. He knew that they technically weren't going out on a date, but he still wanted to make a good impression on her.

They had agreed to meet at Megan's favorite bar at 7 pm, but Tommy was there fifteen minutes in advance because he couldn't wait any longer. Megan arrived at seven and spotted him sitting on a barstool.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N.: **Thank you guys so much for your reviews, they make writing so much fun! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. :)

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**Chapter 5:**

She went further into the room and tapped his shoulder "Hey," she greeted.

Tommy spun around "Hi," he said with a smile and Megan sat down next to him.

For the next hour they talked about this and that, joked around and caught up with each other. Megan told him about how her car accident ended her career as a neurosurgeon and how she had lost custody of her only child. Tommy felt sorry for all the pain that Megan had been through and he was angry at her ex-husband for letting her down. He told Megan about his sisters' death and even why the NYPD tossed him, though he was afraid that it would scare her.

"Yes, it scares me, but the part that went outside of the law for your sister, is the same part that helped me and Lacey. I don't know how I feel about it, but I think I will have to accept it, it's in the past," she said honestly.

"I just wanted to be honest with you, anything else would be unfair," Tommy said, looking deep into her eyes to show her that he was serious.

Megan was surprised- the more time she spent with him, the more she began to realize that he had really changed "Thanks," she said quietly, lost in her thoughts.

She was sick of being alone all the time, she missed having someone to come home to and maybe just maybe Tommy could be the one to make her happy. As much as she longed for it, she was also afraid of being hurt again, so what was she supposed to do?

"Megan are you there?" Tommy asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

"What? Yes, sorry," she said, blushing a little.

"No problem, it's getting late. I'll bring you to your car if you want," he said with a smile.

Megan was stunned by his caring behavior "I'd like that," she agreed, deciding to be more open to him and his suggestions.

They paid and left the bar together. Arriving at her car, it was time to say goodbye.

"I really enjoyed tonight," Tommy said, smiling from ear to ear.

Megan had to grin at his happiness "Yeah, me too," she admitted.

"Maybe we could do this again?" he asked carefully, fearing that she might reject him again, but his fears were needless, as Megan smiled and told him that she'd like to do that, too.

"So, I'll see you at work on Monday?" he asked.

"Yeah, goodnight Tommy," she said and decided to do something quite uncharacteristically for her- she hugged him. Tommy was surprised but put his arms around her immediately, enjoying the closeness between their bodies. Megan felt protected in his arms and was almost sad that the evening had to end, maybe it was time to take the risk. They parted and with a wave of his hand, Tommy said goodbye to Megan "Goodnight, have a safe drive," he said.

And with one last smile Megan drove away.

Tommy couldn't stop smiling, his day had been made- Megan was beginning to open up to him again and he couldn't be happier. He longed for her, wanted her back in his arms, wanted to be able to kiss her, but at the moment he had to be patient and enjoy the time he got to spend with her, waiting for _her_ to take a step forward.

While driving home Megan couldn't stop thinking of the events of the last few hours. She had really been at the bar to catch up with Tommy and surprisingly had had a great time. It made her think of the happy memories she had with Tommy- the romantic dates, how he had made her laugh. He could still make her laugh, that was one of the many things that she had noticed throughout the evening- Tommy hadn't lost his wit, he was still a caring man and could still make her feel warm inside. _What am I thinking? It's not like I'm falling in love with him- but maybe that's exactly what's happening here...Oh crap, what am I going to do?_

When Megan arrived at home she quickly went to check on Lacey, but found her already asleep, so she kissed her forehead and went to bed herself.

Megan woke up feeling happy- she had made her decision. She would wait to see if she could trust Tommy not to cheat on her again and when it felt right she would give him, _them_ another chance.

Lacey sensed that her mother was in a good mood, maybe something had happened between her and Tommy? She really liked Tommy- he was funny and knew how to make her mom smile. Knowing that her mom could be very secretive she didn't mention anything and instead asked her if she was up to a girls day.

Megan smiled "Sure."

"Yay!" Lacey exclaimed and hugged her mom.

They started with painting their nails and Megan even let Lacey talk her into painting her fingernails. Next they put on some make-up and pretty dresses.

"It's time for a photo session!" Lacey announced happily and Megan chuckled, normally she wouldn't agree to such things, but today she was making an exception.

The photos turned out very good and secretly Lacey decided that she would turn them into a present for her mother's upcoming birthday.

After several other activities, like cooking and girl talk, they watched a movie.

"Hey Mom, can I ask you something?" Lacey asked carefully.

"Sure Sweetie, what is it?" she replied.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to know if you had a good time with Tommy yesterday," she said, hoping her mom wouldn't evade the subject.

"A little curious, aren't we? But yes, we had a good time catching up with each other," she smiled.

"So you guys were only out as friends?" Lacey asked with a playful grin.

"That's true," Megan said, pretending that she hadn't seen the look that Lacey had been giving her.

"Sure, whatever you say," Lacey said impishly.

"Oh, you!" Megan exclaimed and began to tickle Lacey, who started to giggle and tried to escape Megan's arms.

* * *

The following days passed quickly and Megan and Tommy had begun to spend more time with each other, sharing a lot of smiles. It didn't go unnoticed by their colleagues, but all of them were wise enough not to say anything.

Megan went to the police department to meet with Tommy, because he finally had the results on her father's suicide note. She met him at the front and hugged him.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile and Tommy could see that she was anxious for the results.

"Hey," he said "Do you wanna go somewhere more quiet? We could take a ride in my car," he offered and Megan nodded. After driving for a few minutes, Tommy parked his car close to a park and turned to Megan. "Okay, the lab identified the handwriting as your father's, but there are signs that the note was written under duress," he told her carefully. Megan tried to control her breathing, her father might have been killed and the more she thought about it, the more she believed it. Tommy took her hands "Now Megan, this doesn't have to mean anything, they're still on the trace analysis and hopefully will know more soon," he said, trying to comfort her.

Megan had tears in her eyes not only because of what she'd just found out, but also because she was touched by Tommy's caring behavior, he was really trying to make her feel better and she realized that he could be there for her. He'd been proving it ever since the last weeks and especially in the last few days, all she had to do was to let him know how she felt. A tear slipped out of her eye and rolled down her cheek, but Tommy caught it and gently brushed it away. "Shh, Megan it's going to be okay, I'm here for you," he whispered and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs.

Megan managed to smile a little, her lips still trembling from crying"Tommy, I..." was all she got out, because of the lump that had formed in her throat.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N.: **Finally I've been able to finish chapter 6...I hope you like it! :)

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

Megan cleared her throat "Tommy, I... don't know what I would have done without your help... thank you," she said, her voice shaky, but she was doing her best to compose herself.

Tommy hugged her "No problem, I meant what I said- I'm here for you, no matter what, you're not alone," he told her and looked deep into her eyes and saw her smile "So, how about we take a little walk to take your mind off the results?" he asked with a caring smile.

Megan contemplated her answer- it was a beautiful evening, the sun was beginning to set and the sky was a stunning shade of red. She was almost convinced that Tommy had learned from his mistakes, but a part of her didn't feel ready to take another step forward- she had never really been able to forget that he cheated on her and it still hurt her, especially because Todd had done the same thing to her during their marriage, it made her feel vulnerable. But it was time to leave the past behind, even if it was hard.

"Okay," she said and they got out of his car.

Tommy had seen that Megan had hesitated before agreeing and was glad to see that she was slowly beginning to trust him again, he only hoped that it wasn't too late to win her love. He had been single for a long time and had only had a few one night stands over the years, but nothing serious. Whenever his mother asked him when he would finally tell her that he was in relationship, he told her that he was saving himself for someone special. Tommy was convinced that Megan was that special someone, she probably had always been, but he'd been to stupid to realize it at the time. This time he would make everything right.

"Tommy, can I ask you something?" she asked, breaking the silence and Tommy looked at her.

"Sure," he said, wondering what she was up to.

"What do you want from me?" she asked a little unsure, if her question would offend him.

"What I really want?" he asked and she nodded "I... wish that I could be with you... I know that what I did was a huge mistake and I regret it, but I have to accept that I probably can't be more to you than a friend, even though I wish I could be the someone that can embody all those things for you," he admitted and Megan was speechless.

She turned away and put her hand up to cover her mouth. He couldn't seriously want to be with her, she knew that she wasn't always easy to live with, constantly pushing people away- so why would he, after knowing her true personality, still want to be with her? They had fought like crazy when they were younger and they were still pushing each others buttons from time to time. Why had her life to be so damn complicated all the time?

A hand on her shoulder startled her from her thoughts "Megan? Did I say something wrong?" Tommy asked, afraid that he'd ruined everything with his admission, but she deserved the truth.

Megan slowly turned around "No, it... it's alright, but could we go back to the car please?" she asked, not knowing what to do.

Tommy nodded "Sure," he was positive that he'd messed up again, he could really slap himself right now.

They rode the car in silence and Megan could see that Tommy felt bad, which made her feel bad, so she decided to talk to him "Are you alright?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah..." he trailed off "I screwed it up again, didn't I?" he asked then as he shut the engine off in front of the department.

Megan found herself taking his head into her hands and turning him towards her "Tommy, look at me. You didn't screw it up... it's just... I don't know... I'm just not sure if I could live with myself if I let you in and you'd hurt me again... everything is just so complicated," she admitted and Tommy just stared at her.

"You... you mean that there could actually be a chance for us?" he asked, still stunned by her admission.

"I think there might be, but I need to think about it, I'm just... scared of getting hurt again," she said, looking down, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

Tommy put a finger under her chin "Don't be, we will make this work," he said and looked deeply into her eyes and the look she was giving him was all the reassurance he needed. "Come on, I'll bring you to your car," he said.

After a quick goodbye Megan was on the road and on her way home. Her day had been exhausting and confusing and the only thing she longed for was her bed, she wanted to forget everything for the moment and sleep for ages. But of course that wasn't possible for her, because her thoughts always returned to either her father or Tommy and it frustrated her- she wanted to know what had happened to her father, but she had to wait for the other test results and she had to decide whether or not she wanted to start dating Tommy again.

There she lay wide awake, trying to decide what to do. She knew that she had enjoyed their closer relationship over the past few days and Tommy had told her that he wanted to be with her again, she believed him. It was a dilemma to Megan- she wanted to be in a relationship again and she knew that she still felt something for Tommy, but there was also the fear of being left heartbroken. It was one of those situations where people would tell you to follow you heart, but Megan was not sure what she really wanted most- to live her life without another heartbreak or to find the someone she could share her life with?

At that moment realized that she was hiding behind her fear- she would never know what could have been and probably never get over that fear. Whenever Lacey had been afraid of something or had thought she couldn't do something it had been _her_, who had told Lacey that life was about overcoming your fears, that it made people stronger and that you sometimes just needed to trust your own abilities. Megan had always been a determined person and when she wanted something she gave her best to reach her goal. So, if she wanted things to go well between her and Tommy, she needed to do just that- give her best and believe in them.

Megan's fierce personality had overruled her fears- she would give this relationship another try, because things can work if you want them to work.

She decided to text Tommy: "Hey, can we talk after work tomorrow?"

Tommy's heart hammered in his chest when he saw her message- was this good or bad news? "Sure, I'll meet you at your office," he replied

The thought of talking to Tommy excited her, but the thought, that she'd finally made a decision calmed her and let her fall into a peaceful slumber.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N.:** Thank you to all of you who are reading my story, I'm so sorry for the long wait! Anyways, I hope that you'll enjoy chapter 7! :)

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

Megan had felt like a teenager in the morning; changing her outfit at least three times while telling herself to stop being silly. More than half of her work day was already over, that meant only a few hours until she would tell Tommy about her decision. Meanwhile there was another pile of paperwork that needed her attention as well as Ethan and Curtis who were stuck on their case.

Tommy's day had been pretty calm and he had succeeded in hiding his nervousness from his nosy partner. He didn't want Adam to know about the current situation between him and Megan, because it was only about them and nobody else, also he knew that it might scare Megan off, so he kept doing his work.

After finishing her paperwork, Megan decided to be 'nice' and help Ethan and Curtis on their case.

"Look at this Doc, I don't get it- I checked the victims levels and there is no way to match these cells to the lab results," Ethan told her, excited that she had agreed to help them.

Megan stopped herself from rolling her eyes at his eagerness and quickly read the file before looking into the microscope

"Hmm, that's odd, normally you wouldn't see this kind of pattern with these test results... wait what's that?" she asked as she zoomed in even more "Aha! Well gentlemen with these tiny red splotches, even though they're normally bigger and easier to spot, you know what caused the pattern, right?" Megan asked with a smirk as Ethan slapped his forehead and Curtis just looked uncomfortable because of their inability to spot some tiny splotches, but they were also relieved to be able to explain what they'd found and they were now closer to catching the killer.

"Thanks Dr. Hunt," Ethan said and Megan smiled at them, but as she glanced on the clock that hung on the wall of the lab she cursed, causing Curtis and Ethan to look confused.

"Damn it, this late already? I gotta go, sorry and good luck catching the killer!" she said the last bit over her shoulder while practically running back to her office to gather her things and meet Tommy down in the lobby, leaving Curtis and Ethan behind, wondering what had gotten into her today.

She arrived just in time as Tommy casually strolled into the building with a smile on his face.

"Hey," he greeted as he hugged her.

She smiled "Hey. How about we take a walk down the street to talk?" she suggested, wanting to leave the office for this kind of talk and was happy when Tommy agreed.

They had been walking down the street for a few minutes, when Tommy asked her, what she wanted to talk to him about.

Megan blushed a little "Well, I couldn't sleep yesterday, so I began thinking about what we had talked about in the park and I realized that I was hiding behind my fear of getting hurt, so what I'm trying to say is... I would like to give things between us another try," she finished nervously.

Tommy's heartbeat quickened and he looked surprised "Really? I really don't wanna rush you into anything, if you need more time, that's fine," he rambled, but Megan interrupted him "Tommy, stop talking!" she said gently, but firm enough to stop him.

"Not really my strong suit," he said teasingly.

Megan leaned in and whispered in his ear "I noticed, but you're cute when you're nervous."

She kissed his cheek and just as she was pulling away, Tommy took her face into his hands and kissed her lips, technically it wasn't their first kiss, but it felt just like their first one that had happened over twenty years ago. Megan felt a shiver run down her spine and pressed herself closer to him to deepen the kiss.

When they broke the kiss, Tommy looked lovingly at Megan "Wow, just like I remembered," he said and Megan blushed. "How about I take you out for dinner to celebrate?" he asked her and she happily agreed.

When they arrived at the small restaurant that Tommy had chosen, they sat down and ordered their food. They talked about this and that, their lives after their breakup, amongst other things.

"So your birthday is in two days, do you have any plans?" Tommy asked curiously, hoping that he would be able to spend it with her.

Megan was surprised by his question- she didn't like to make a fuss over her birthdays, she preferred to keep things simple "I haven't really thought about it, probably I'll spend it with Lacey and my mother, but I doubt that my mother's company will be pleasant... All she ever does is trying to get me to go out more, she wants me to have a _social life_, it's frustrating," she said and rolled her eyes, but suddenly a smile came to her face "Hey, how about you come over as well?" she asked suddenly.

Tommy grinned "Oh, I don't know... then I would have to get you a present and also I'm not sure if I could squeeze you in my schedule."

Megan slapped his arm "You really are an ass!" she said and they both began to chuckle.

"That might be, but you like me all the same," he teased.

"Watch out there Detective, I might as well change my mind," she said as their dessert arrived.

"You wouldn't do that to me, now would you?" he asked, pretending to be hurt by her statement and she laughed.

"Well in that case you'd better behave," she retorted.

After finishing their food and paying, they went outside and headed towards Tommy's car. Tommy had again realized how much he liked being around Megan, how much she had fascinated him over the entire evening, he still felt as much passion for her as he did twenty years ago.

They stopped in front of his car and Tommy decided that it was now or never: "Megan, I know that it's not that long that you've agreed to give us another try, actually that was only a few hours ago," he chuckled nervously, confusing her a little "Anyways, what I'm trying to ask you is- Megan Hunt would you do me the honor and become my girlfriend?" he asked softly and Megan had to smile.

"I...I think... I'd like that very much," she stammered a little and blushed. _She's adorable,_ he thought as a smile lit his features and he grabbed her by the waist to gently pull her to him and plant his lips on hers in a passionate kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N.:** This is chapter 8 and I've already got chapter 9 planned out, so updates might become a little quicker, I'm kind of in a writing mood lately...Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! :)

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

After being brought home by Tommy and several goodnight kisses, Megan went to check on an already asleep Lacey and got ready for bed with a huge smile. She and Tommy had agreed, that Megan would tell Lacey about them the next day and that they would keep their relationship out of the workplace, because they wanted it to remain private.

Megan woke up early the next morning and made breakfast for Lacey and herself, softly humming to herself. Just as she was about to call for her, Lacey entered the kitchen.

"Morning, mom," she said with a smile and sat down at the kitchen counter.

"Morning, sweetie," Megan replied, sitting down next to her and contemplating whether to tell Lacey right away or in the afternoon.

"So, how was your evening mom?" Lacey asked, sensing that something good had happened and she silently prayed that it was what she was hoping for.

"It was nice and actually... I need to tell you something," she started instantly catching Lacey's attention "Tommy and I are back together," she said and let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

Lacey squealed excitedly "Really? This is so awesome!" she exclaimed, hugging her mom tightly.

"I take it you're okay with it then?" Megan asked after catching her breath. Lacey rolled her eyes "Duh!"

They laughed and continued to eat their breakfast. It was only when Lacey had already left for school, that Megan realized that her car was still at the morgue. Cursing slightly she decided to call Tommy and ask him if he could pick her up.

Tommy had actually been on the way to buy a present for Megan, as her birthday was on the next day, when his phone rang.

"Miss me already?" he answered in a teasing tone.

"More like miss my car which is still at the morgue," she retorted.

"So you're only calling because you need a ride?" he asked, pretending to be appalled.

"Well, I could always ask Charlie, I'm sure he would be willing..." she teased.

"Alright, I'm on my way, can't leave you to deal with that stuck up pain in the ass," he muttered the last part and Megan chuckled

"Oh, are we being a little jealous, Detective Sullivan?"

Tommy snorted "I'll see you in 5, Doc," he retorted.

When he arrived at her house, she was already downstairs waiting for him. Megan was wearing dark gray skinny jeans with a deep purple blouse that was tugged into the hem of her trousers and a simple black blazer. _Damn she looks hot,_ Tommy thought as he got out of his car and went to greet her.

"You're lucky that you're on time, I was about to call Charlie," she teased as he walked towards her.

"Nah, I don't think so, you only like to make me jealous," he said and put his hand on her waist, gently tugging her forward "You look beautiful," he whispered and kissed her.

"Why thank you, as much as I hate saying this, we should really get going because I'm not in the mood for trouble today," she said with a smile and pecked his lips.

"I thought you're always in the mood for trouble," he said, pretending to be surprised.

"Oh, will you stop it!" she exclaimed and playfully slapped his chest.

"Ow!"

"You're such a baby, now come on!" she chuckled.

While driving to the office, Megan told Tommy about Lacey's reaction to them being a couple and he couldn't believe it. Sure- he got along well with Lacey the times that he met her, which were actually very few, but never had he imagined that she would react that happy. Now his only problem was Joan Hunt who had yet to find out about his and Megan's relationship, he knew that she had never really liked him and he kind of doubted that she would make things easy for him this time, he shoved his thoughts aside and stopped the car in front of the MEO and kissed Megan goodbye.

Back on the road, Tommy drove to one of Megan's favorite jeweler's shops, that he remembered from New York. Upon entering the shop, the owner instantly asked him if he could be of any assistance and Tommy agreed and told him, what he was looking for and half an hour later, he had found the perfect gift for Megan.

He arrived on time at the department and began his working routine.

Megan was happy all day and finished her work quickly, so she could leave work early. When she arrived at her apartment, she found Lacey and her mother in the living room.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Megan asked surprised.

"Hello to you too, sweetheart. Lacey invited me over," she said.

"Okay then, Lacey I suppose you had something in mind when you invited your grandma over?" Megan asked, sensing that it had something to do with her and Tommy's relationship.

"Uhm, yeah I thought you wanted to tell grandma," Lacey replied with a smile, determined to make her grandmother accept Tommy more, so the next day wouldn't end in a disaster.

Joan perked up at this "Tell me what?" she asked curiously.

Megan rolled her eyes "Well, I think Lacey wants me to tell you, what I told her this morning, so that means she wants me to tell you, that Tommy and I are back together," Megan finished and Joan gasped, clearly not pleased with this new information.

"You what? Megan, I told you that you can't trust him, you should know better after what happened in New York," Joan exclaimed, which angered Megan as she knew that she could trust him this time.

"Mom, people can change and Tommy has proven that to me numerous times since he's been here. I trust him and if you're not even able to give him a chance to show that he's changed before you judge him, you can consider yourself uninvited to your only daughter's birthday!"

"So you expect me to pretend, that I don't care about the fact that he used you and broke your heart? You want to push me away just because I'm worried about your happiness?" she asked obviously hurt by Megan's statement.

"You don't get it, do you? I _am_ happy and what is stopping me from enjoying it tight now, is your behavior which is clearly based on prejudices! I only want you to give him a fair chance, is that too much to ask?" she asked exasperatedly.

Joan knew that she had no other chance than to give Megan, what she wanted "Fine, I'm sorry, I will try to give him a chance," she said, still feeling the tension, but seeing Megan relax, made her feel a little better.

"See? This is all I wanted, I'm a big girl, I can look out for myself," Megan said, now more calmly, but there was still a hint of anger in her voice.

"I know, but I just can't help it, you will always be my little girl," Joan said quietly. _You should have acted like that when I really was a little girl, now it's a little late, don't you think? _Megan thought, but decided not to voice her thoughts, as she was tired of fighting with her mother about things that were in the past anyway.

"Group hug!" Lacey shouted, trying to break the tension and cheer them up.

"Alright you little peacemaker," Megan said, kissing the top of her head.

About half an hour later, Joan excused herself and went home.

Meanwhile, Tommy was finally able to call it a day and leave work. When he arrived home, he quickly sent Megan a text:

_Hey beautiful, can't wait to see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams! ~Tommy_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N.: **I'm back with chapter 9, I hope you'll enjoy it! :) This will be all about Megan's birthday.

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

The next morning arrived quickly and before she knew it, Megan was awakened by a bouncy Lacey who hugged her tight and wished her a happy birthday.

"Thank you, Lace. Now I need to get up to make breakfast," she said with a smile and was surprised when Lacey shook her head. "No need to, breakfast is ready."

When Megan arrived in her kitchen, she saw that Lacey had set a beautiful breakfast for the two of them. "Wow, you didn't have to do that... but thank you," she said and kissed the top of Lacey's head.

All too soon it was time for Megan and Lacey to get ready for dinner. They quickly showered and did their make-up. Megan chose to wear her favorite red lace dress with black high heels and Lacey wore a cobalt blue dress with a slim belt around her waist, a black cardigan and ballet flats.

Tommy had been waiting in front of the restaurant for 10 minutes when Megan and Lacey arrived, as he didn't want to give Joan a reason to criticize him, he was not afraid of her, but he really didn't want to cause trouble on Megan's birthday, he wanted Megan to enjoy it thoroughly.

Megan smiled and walked towards Tommy.

"Happy birthday!" Tommy said happily while hugging her and then giving her a quick peck on the lips.

"Thanks," she said with a big smile. Tommy noticed, that Lacey wasn't standing close by and waved her over.

"Hey Lacey, come on over!" he said with a warm smile.

"Hi, Tommy," she greeted and smirked at her mother's and his intertwined hands, she found it cute. "Welcome in the family!" she exclaimed happily and hugged Tommy- he was stunned, he hadn't expected her to be this accepting.

Just as Lacey pulled away from him, Joan arrived and wished her daughter a happy birthday, hugged Lacey and gave Tommy a curt, yet polite 'Hello'.

After having dinner, they went back to Megan's condo and Lacey decided that it was time to give their gifts to Megan and because she was so excited about it, the others told her to go first.

Megan gasped when she opened Lacey's gift- Lacey had made a beautiful collage out of photos of them, especially those of their girl's day and had used different fonts to write down things about Megan "_Beautiful, compassionate, strength, devoted, loving, amazing,..._" were scattered over the picture in various colors and sizes, making it look like a work of art that one could only buy for a lot of money.

"Oh my God, Lace this is amazing, you're amazing, thank you so much, sweetie!" she said with tears in her eyes and hugged Lacey tightly. Next Joan handed her a gift coupon for her favorite shoe store at Society Hill and Megan thanked her with a small hug. Then it was Tommy's turn and he gave her a small black box, which she carefully opened.

"You didn't..." Megan gasped as she looked at the beautiful necklace that was inside of it. Lacey and Joan were curious about what Tommy had gotten her, but all they could guess was, that it had to be jewelery. It was a simple gold necklace with three interlocked rings, that went from tall to small, absolutely matching her taste in jewelery- she liked simple, yet elegant designs.

Tommy smiled at her stunned reaction

"Read the card," he whispered gently and pointed to the small card that was also in the box.

_The tall ring stands for me, the midsize one stands for you and the small one stands for Lacey- I promise that I'll be here for the both of you, protecting you. ~Tommy_

Megan wiped the small tear that had fallen from her eye and kissed him.

"Who knew, that you could be such a romantic?" she asked in a stunned, yet teasing voice.

Tommy chuckled "Well, I might have had some help with possible interpretations, but I chose and wrote it myself," he said with a small pout.

"I love it! Will you help me put it on?" she asked.

Lacey and Joan cleared their throats rather loudly "Will you show us what it is already?" Lacey asked curiously.

Megan rolled her eyes and chuckled "Hold your horses, I'm gonna put it on."

Joan and Lacey both liked the necklace, that Tommy had given Megan, though Joan seemed unimpressed and still very distant towards Tommy. After an hour of somewhat awkward seeming conversations, she excused herself and went home.

Tommy suspected that Joan was still angry and convinced, that he was not the right one for her daughter. He really wanted her to accept their relationship, not because he needed reassurance, but because he knew, that Megan and her mother already had a difficult relationship, he didn't want to make things more difficult.

Lacey had decided to go to her room after a while, so Megan and Tommy could spend some time alone. Tommy sensed that Megan was a bit tense, so he asked her about it, knowing that she'd pretend to be fine.

"Megan, I know that it isn't nothing, please talk to me. Was it something I did?" he asked.

She looked away "No... it's just that I'm still very annoyed with my mother's behavior tonight," she sighed. Tommy took her hand.

"I'm really sorry that she doesn't approve of me, I shouldn't have come. I didn't want to make things more difficult," he said sadness crossing his face.

"No, it's not your fault, that she can't let go of the past. I told her yesterday to at least give you a chance to prove her wrong, but apparently my wishes don't count. If she can't accept you, then she'll have to live with the consequences," Megan said with bitterness.

"Now Megan, surely you don't mean that, she's your mother," Tommy said shocked that she would do that for them.

Megan looked into his blue eyes, her hazel ones filling with tears "Tommy, ever since you've been here you've shown me over and over again, that you're not the man you were twenty years ago and I want her to see that... I want her to see that you're important to me," she sobbed "I don't even know why you put up with me, but I want her to see that you did," she continued to cry.

Tommy took her face in his hands and brushed her tears away "You're worth it, Megan," he replied with a smile, tugging her closer and kissing her softly.

At that moment Megan didn't know which one of her emotions was stronger- the happiness because of Tommy's words or the anger towards her mother for yet again criticizing her life. To her it seemed as if everything she did was never good enough for her mother, which was why she was spending as few time as possible with her and usually ignored her opinion these days- she knew how those things could end and remembered how she had developed an eating disorder when she was Lacey's age, because her mother had constantly told her that she was not slim enough, a tear fell from her eye.

Tommy looked at her worriedly "Hey, are you alright?"

Megan nodded and wiped the tear away "Yeah, I just thought about why I try to ignore my mother's comments most of the time, it brought back some memories," she finished quietly and let out a tired yawn "Can you stay?" she asked him.

Tommy was surprised by her question, but agreed to stay, offering to sleep on the couch, but she pulled him into her bedroom instead, needing his sothing presence.

After getting into bed, Megan snuggled up to him, finding comfort in his arms that were safely wrapped around her.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N.:** I am so sorry for not updating in so long! School was really keeping me busy... but fortunately vacations started today, so I could finally finish this chapter, which sadly is also the last one. :( But I hope you're going to enjoy reading it and maybe leave me a review, telling me what you thought of the story? :))

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

Several weeks later Megan and Tommy were still going strong, even though Joan still hadn't really warmed up to Tommy, but she was busy moving out of her old house anyway. Tommy had also taken Megan to meet his parents, but beside of their families nobody knew about them. It had become harder to keep their relationship a secret at work, because they were so used to flirting and touching each other when they were in a room together.

One evening after work Tommy went to pick Megan up at the office. He smiled when he saw the beautiful redhead still engrossed in her work and walked up to her side and cleared his throat, which startled Megan.

"Tommy! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" she exclaimed and playfully shoved him away while standing up, but Tommy put his hands on her waist and whispered in her ear "But you're still happy to see me, aren't you?"

Megan smirked "Oh I'm not so sure about that," she said and tried to pull away.

"Is that so? Well then obviously I will have to do something about that," he replied and pulled her in for a passionate kiss, which Megan instantly deepened.

Curtis and Ethan were on their way to leave the office when they saw someone enter Dr. Hunts office- curious as to what was going on they went to investigate and what they heard and saw did certainly shock them; never had they imagined to see the two persons who usually couldn't share a room without arguing or throwing smart ass remarks at each other kissing and being civil to each other.

It creeped them out, so they quickly left their hiding spot and went to head to the bowling center, as planned, where Ethan wanted to demonstrate his 'bowling power' once again. In the elevator they looked at each other with equally shocked expressions "Did we just walk in on Megan and Tommy _kissing- _how long has this been going on?!" Ethan got out and Curtis nodded "I wonder how he's managed to stay sane- she would have driven me nuts after a few hours...the poor guy," Curtis said, wondering how Tommy could possibly _want_ to be with Megan- sure, she wasn't exactly bad for the eye, but she was a serious pain in the ass, at least this was his (and probably every one of her co-workers') opinion, he thought.

Tommy and Megan never noticed that they were being watched and left the office a while later to enjoy the evening at Megan's apartment. Lacey was having a sleepover at her friend's house, so they had the place to themselves.

The next morning at work was weird to say the least- wherever Megan went, people were looking at her and whispering things she couldn't hear and it was becoming quite irritating for her, so when she arrived at the police department, she went straight to Tommy's desk before talking to him and Adam about some formalities concerning the case they'd just closed.

"What's it with people staring today? Do I have something in my face or what?" Megan asked Tommy in an annoyed tone, after seeing Riley throw her a glare.

Tommy laughed at her annoyance "No, you're as beautiful as ever, but I did some investigating and since Adam was so _friendly_ to tease me about it, I found out that someone saw us in your office yesterday, so basically that must be the reason for the staring," he told her and after a while a smirk appeared on her face "Well in that case, we could give them some affirmation on their hot gossip, don't you think?" she asked and pulled him in for a kiss.

They both grinned after pulling away and went to look for Adam, ignoring the stares.

Back at her office, Megan was surprised to find a message from her boss, Kate Murphy, telling her that she wanted to talk to her as soon as possible. _I wonder what I've done this time..._ she thought while walking towards Kate's office, knocking on the door.

"Come in," came the reply from inside. "Megan, nice to see you. Please, have a seat," she said, while putting away what appeared to be yet another statement for the press.

Megan rolled her eyes "Alright let's get this over with... what did I do?"

Kate shook her head at Megan's behavior "Actually I would only like you to confirm whether or not you are in a romantic relationship with Detective Sullivan," she replied, eying Megan suspiciously.

"And why would that be your business?" Megan shot back, annoyed that everybody seemed to focus on her private life or rather her love life all of a sudden.

Kate sighed "Look, I'm only asking because there are rumors about the two of you and I need to make sure that your work is not affected."

Megan refrained from rolling her eyes yet again "You should know by now, that I take my work very serious, so if that will be all, I'm on my way out," Megan declared and moved to stand.

Kate nodded "I'm aware of that, it's just my duty to make sure, but that will be all."

"Good to know that you still take your duties seriously with all those campaigns," Megan said on her way out, leaving a slightly frustrated Kate behind.

In the evening Megan and Tommy were making dinner in the kitchen, when the doorbell rang.

"Tommy, could you open the door?" she asked, while continuing to chop the vegetables. He nodded in reply and went to answer the door, only to find a disappointed looking Lacey and a man he didn't know, but assumed to be Lacey's father, standing there.

"Lace?" he said, not understanding why Lacey would be back already, since her father had wanted to bring her over in two days, because he wanted to spend 'quality time' with her, as he had put it.

"Hi Tommy," she greeted and hugged him "if you're wondering why I'm here already... it's because work comes _always_ first," she said, shooting her father an angry glare, while entering the apartment to greet her mom.

"Could I talk to my ex-wife, please?" Todd asked, looking at Tommy with scrutinizing eyes.

"I'll see what I can do, come in please," he replied although he wanted to chase him out of the house for obviously letting Lacey down, it was strange how he already felt so protective about her.

After telling Megan that Todd wanted to talk to her, he knew that it wouldn't be a pleasant conversation, so he took Lacey to the living room to watch some TV show. Even though the volume was turned up they were beginning to hear raised voices.

"_So, basically you're telling me, that you let your daughter down again, because someone asked you to make a business trip to New York?! Seriously Todd, you're a grown man, you could have said no- it's not your job to help somebody out! Lacey missed you! Do you know how much she was looking forward to spending time with you?! Since when do you only care about yourself anymore?"_

"_Excuse me?! Who was the one who constantly missed play dates and what not? Oh right, that was _you!_ And I do not only care about myself, but my career is important and you can't tell me that you wouldn't have helped out if you knew that it could bring you closer to a raise! I know you and just because your and Lacey's relationship is better now, you can't pretend to be the perfect parent- how often have you let her down for work, huh?!"_

"_I never said that I was the perfect parent! You know what, I don't care what you say- I only want you to realize what you're doing to your _daughter_!And now you're going to leave this house and think about your actions- I know that you care about her, but get your priorities straight, okay?!"_

They heard the door slam and after making sure that Lacey was okay and ready to head to bed, Tommy stood up to see if his girlfriend was okay. He found her in her bedroom, pacing back and forth, anger still visible in her features.

"Hey," he said offering a smile. Megan only huffed, but moved towards him anyway. Tommy took her in her arms and soothingly rubbed her back."It's going to be okay and if he doesn't work out his priorities, he's a fool, but as long as Lacey has you everything will be alright," he told her "She said that she was going to bed and to tell you, that she loves you and that she's happy that she can always count on you."

Megan looked up at him "She said that?" Tommy nodded "Yes she did, I think she's truly happy that you two get along better now."

She sighed happily "Life will never be perfect, but I think mine's pretty damn close to it right now... thank you."

Tommy looked at her, puzzled "What do you have to thank me for?"

Megan smiled "Thank you for showing me that I needed your support and that you sometimes need to forgive, thank you for changing my mind."

_**~The End~**_


End file.
